Helen, Georgia with Kids
What is there to do in Helen, Georgia, with Kids? Is Helen a town worth visiting?
Though it wasn’t our idea, our family visited Helen, Georgia, and loved it. There is so much to do with kids of all ages.
It is hard to say relaxing and kids in the same sentence, but we had a great long weekend in Helen, Georgia, with 6 kids, 5 parents, 2 grandparents, 2 surrogate grandparents, and a few visits from friends.
Helen is an adorable Bavarian-style town in Northeast Georgia.
My mom decided that she wanted to spend her 70th birthday with her family in the mountains. Her birthday is around Thanksgiving, which is a big holiday for us, so she decided to go in the summer instead.
Her goal was to spend time outdoors and buy her grandchildren dolls from the Cabbage Patch Hospital.
Of course, I am in for any vacation, but we were extra excited to get away from the Florida summer heat and celebrate with my mom.
Helen, Georgia, is a great multi-generational trip as there is plenty for everyone to do. It is small enough that not everyone needs to do every activity (they won’t go all day by themselves), but large enough so everyone stays busy.
Keep reading to find out what to do in Helen, Georgia with kids.
Unicoi State Park and Helen, Georgia
Helen, Georgia, is located in Northern Georgia, right next to Unicoi State Park.
Helen is about 1.5 hours north of Atlanta (or an 8ish hour drive from the Tampa area, which is where we drove from).
We reserved cabins in Unicoi State Park.
There are a few options for accommodation inside Unicoi State Park. There are cabins, campsites, and a lodge.
My parents’ friends joined us at Unicoi with their RV. The rest of us stayed in 2-bedroom cabins.
There are 3 choices for cabin type. We stayed in the Smith Creek cabins, which are the most rustic. Each cabin has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a front porch. There is no TV and no WIFI. The cabins are located just a few miles from the lodge and are right near a creek.
I did not need WIFI, but if you do, it is available at the lodge or in town.
TIP Book early. The cabins are affordable and tend to be booked out early.
More Helen Accommodations
If you prefer to stay in town and not at Unicoi, here are some family-friendly options.
Activities at Unicoi State Park
We did not spend too much time in the park, other than for meals and to sleep, but there is a lot to do.
My family went swimming in the lake and played at the beach.
Everyone had a meal at the lodge to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday. They have a dinner buffet.
There are 2 restaurants inside the park and many more down the mountain in Helen.
My family went out for breakfast most days. We all ate out for lunch (or packed a picnic), and then we cooked some dinners at the cabins. Our cabins were all in a row, and it was easy to walk between them. The kids loved having the freedom to walk to their grandparents’ cabin (while a parent watched from the front porch).
We have Florida babies who had never seen lightning bugs, so even that was a fun thing for the kids to do in Helen, Georgia.
Helen Shops and Restaurants with Kids
The entire town of Helen is set up to look like a German village.
There are plenty of specialty shops that are interesting to look at.
Tim’s Wooden Toys not only sells wooden toys, but you can also buy customized toys.
Betty’s Country Store is a decent-sized grocery store where we bought supplies for the meals that we cooked in the cabins.
We didn’t make it to Charlemagne’s Kingdom, but the model train museum was on our list. Hopefully, we will make it on the next visit.
Windmill Dutch Imports has wooden shoes, Dutch treats, and many other Dutch items.
My kids aren’t great shoppers, but there are plenty of fun shops to check out with kids in Helen, Georgia.
Nora Mill Granary Grist Mill and Country Store
If you visit one store, I suggest the Nora Mill Granary Grist Mill and County Store.
The Granary is not in town, but it is worth the trip.
Check ahead to see when the mill will be running.
This was a fun place to buy souvenirs. We purchased lots of baking mixes, grits, syrup, and other food items. Bringing home pantry items is a fun way to think back on your vacation long after you return home.
Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchen
There are 2 Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchens in Helen, both located on Main Street.
The one that is a little further outside the village has a factory you can tour.
Things may have changed, so check before you go. We were able to take a tour, which is free and includes lots of free chocolate.
Unfortunately, their website is not currently available, but they are still open. Call to confirm hours and if they are running tours.
We had a large group, so we were the only ones on our tour.
Georgia Mountain Coaster
I am a scaredy-cat, but my daughter is a wild thing, so she could not wait to ride down the Georgia Mountain Coaster.
Located in the middle of town, the Georgia Mountain Coaster is the first alpine coaster in Georgia.
While the rest of the family rode down the mountain, my son and I walked around the shops.
We were busy most of our visit and did not have time to wander the shops otherwise. There is definitely enough to do to fill your time with kids in Helen.
Of course, the kids could have ridden the coaster all day. My nieces went back the next day to ride again before the long drive home.
Tubing Down the Chattahoochee River
There are a couple of choices for tubing, and we picked tubing and then access to the water park.
Kids can choose between tubes with holes in the center or ones that have a place for them to sit. My kids are little, so I picked the ones without holes.
There is a way to tie tubes together so that you do not get separated. We all decided on different configurations, but for my family, each adult was connected to a child. We switched about halfway so that each child had an opportunity to tube with both parents.
A little bit of a rough ride down the river
The tubing was rough, but lots of fun.
It was not my first time tubing, but it was my first time with kids.
The river was shallow, and rocks were sticking out that we had to avoid. There were a few small drops as well.
This was not a relaxing ride down the river. I had to pay attention the whole time.
It was hard to stay together. We had a big group, but we all got separated. I did see some members of my family, but most of the time it was just me and whichever kid I currently had strapped to my tube.
I fell out of my tube 2x, but it was shallow and easy to get back in. My kids never fell out, thankfully.
Of course, they loved that I fell out, and they loved the rough areas of the river the most.
The river runs through the town of Helen, and you can see the shops and restaurants as you float by.
As you can see in the photos, it got crowded at times, but that was at the very beginning when everyone was just getting started.
Helen Waterpark
After our tubing adventure, we went to the water park.
Well, first we had lunch at the picnic tables outside the waterpark.
The water park has a lazy river, which was perfect for lying in tubes and floating around. The lazy river was a lot less stressful than the river, except, of course, my kids refused to sit in a tube and instead wanted to swim around it as quickly as they could. I spent most of my time swimming after them.
These pictures are from the first few minutes, so you can see there ARE tubes. There are single and double tubes available.
There are a few large slides at the water park. My daughter was happy to have her cousins go down the slide with her again and again.
Anna Ruby Falls
I stayed in the car with a sleeping child while everyone else hiked up to Anna Ruby Falls. The trail is only about .5 miles, so it is doable even with small children.
There is a visitor center and shop by the parking lot.
BabyLand General Hospital (Cabbage Patch Factory)
I remember going to the Cabbage Patch Hospital when I was a kid.
The hospital is located in Cleveland, Georgia, about 15 minutes from Helen.
While the building has changed, the idea is still the same.
You can take a self-guided tour of the Cabbage Patch Hospital. There are “nurses” around, and you walk through a few rooms and learn about the history of Cabbage Patch.
Cabbage Patch Kids are born out of a cabbage head. Every hour, another doll is born. If you want, you can try to sign up ahead of time so that you get the doll that is being born. If you do, you can name the baby.
We had 6 kids with us, and no desire to stay long enough for 6 dolls to be born, so we just watched when the new Cabbage Patch baby was born and named, and then let the kids each pick out a doll.
Picking out Dolls
My son picked out Marshall from Paw Patrol from the shop before we even made it into the hospital. He had no desire to switch Marshall for a Cabbage Patch Kid.
Three of my nieces picked out the Exclusive Cabbage Patch Dolls that are only available at the hospital or on the website. If you purchase one of these dolls, you can customize their birth certificate with the name and birthday of your choice.
One of my nieces picked out the kind of doll that comes in a box you generally find at the store.
My daughter picked out a baby Cabbage Patch Doll, one that does not come in a box, and is one of the cheapest options.
The Adoption Center at Babyland Hospital
After my mom paid for the 6 dolls, we went into a special room, the adoption center.
The 3 girls who had picked out exclusive dolls were able to name their dolls and choose their birth dates. A birth certificate was printed out for them.
My niece, who bought the doll in a box, did not want to change her doll’s information, and that is when we learned that if she did want to change it, it would cost $5 for a new birth certificate, as her doll came with one already.
At first, my daughter wanted to change her doll’s information, but then we found out that she couldn’t! My mom brought up buying a new birth certificate for my niece and giving it to my daughter, but we decided that was silly.
The adoption center was very serious about the birth certificates, and luckily, my kid didn’t seem to care. I told her to name her doll, and she picked “Laur Aqua Flower.” To be honest, I do not remember the name on the tag that she chose. She made me read every single tag and then didn’t keep the name anyway.
Cool River Adventures
We did not use this company, but it is something I would look into with older kids.
Besides tubing, they have zip lines, adventure courses, and a climbing wall. There are weight requirements for each activity, so check their website for details.
Wineries near Helen
We drove around the area and saw a lot of signs for wineries. We stopped at one or two, and I had a wine tasting while the kids played. Well, one kid played, and the other fell asleep. The great thing about wineries is that there is usually a lot of outdoor space where kids can run around.
We ended up visiting The Cottage Vineyard and Winery and Kaya Vineyard and Winery.
Other wineries near Helen include:
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